What signings do Chelsea need to make in January?

Cameron Smith

• Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
• 3 min read

After splashing the cash over the summer, Frank Lampard has appeared to get the best out of his new signings over recent weeks, but do they need anyone else in January?

Now unbeaten in eight games in all competitions, and the defence finally looking solid, there’s certainly an argument that the Blues simply don’t need any reinforcements during the winter transfer window, but they could do with one or two.

Defence:

Edouard Mendy, Ben Chilwell, and Thiago Silva have all already hit the ground running at Stamford Bridge, and helped to fix the leaky Chelsea backline.

However, the latter is now 36-years-old, and isn’t a long-term fix.

Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger have had multiple chances of staking their claim for a permanent place in the team, but with mistakes happening far too often from both, they don’t appear to be in Lampard’s plans, and may well be sold either in January, or next summer.

With that in mind, Chelsea may need another centre-back to add to their roster, with Fikayo Tomori likely to continue his role as back-up, or compete with a potential new signing to play alongside Kurt Zouma.

Benoit Badiashile Mukinayi of AS Monaco could be ideal option to challenge Tomori for a starting spot once Silva eventually departs, and with one of Christensen or Rudiger most likely to stay until the summer at least, Badiashile could be loaned back to his current club for the time being.

The 19-year-old is winning 3.9 aerial duels, and making 2.6 tackles and interceptions per 90 this season, and these would both rank first out of Chelsea’s current crop of centre-back talent; he could prove a shrewd acquisition by the Chelsea hierarchy.

Midfield:

Arguably Chelsea’s greatest strength, their midfield is stacked with world-class talent, and reinforcements simply aren’t needed here.

N’Golo Kante is one of the world’s best defensive midfielders, and with Jorginho, Billy Gilmour and even Mateo Kovacic able to play the no.6 role, and the latter two providing back-up for Mason Mount and Kai Havertz at no.8, Chelsea’s midfield is one of the best in the world.

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With Conor Gallagher, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Ross Barkley currently out on loan, and Lewis Bate and Tino Anjorin ready to make the step up to the first team, Lampard certainly has plenty of options in midfield.

Attack:

Once again, Chelsea’s attack has been cleverly constructed, and possesses some of the most dangerous forwards in world football.

Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech have already shown their talent, and Christian Pulsic, Tammy Abraham and Callum Hudson-Odoi each have their individual qualities.

Perhaps the only uncertainty is the role of Olivier Giroud, who scored eight Premier League goals last season, most of which came after Project Restart, but has been left on the bench this campaign, amassing just 33 minutes of league football so far.

This may see the Frenchman leave in January, and if he does then a replacement will need to be lined up by the Blues.

One potential candidate could well be Josh King, who has hasn’t featured too regularly for Bournemouth since their relegation to the Championship, and could be willing to act as back-up for a top level Premier League side.